Open Source Startup

Unit 6: Understanding Your Customer

Key Takeaways

• Understand how to validate customers
• Understand when to pivot off customer data
• Understand how to build a customer persona for your beachhead market

Readings

• Startup Owner’s Manual
• Chapter 2: The Customer Development Model
• Chapter 4: An Introduction to Customer Discovery
• Chapter 5: Introduction to Customer Validation
• Chapter 6: Customer Validation: Pivot or Proceed?
• Disciplined Entrepreneurship
• Step 5: Profile the Persona for the Beachhead Market
• Step 6: Full Life Cycle Use Case
• Step 9: Identify Your Next 10 Customers
• The Innovator’s Solution
• What products will customers want to buy?
• Product Manager’s Desk Reference
• Chapter 8: Finding Markets to Conquer by Understanding Customer Needs and Market Segments

Deliverables

• Develop a persona for your startup’s Beachhead Market
• Develop a full life cycle use case for your startup’s core product
• Write out a clear description of the core pain point you are solving for your customers